Sew women’s blouses, shirts, and tops with this collection of over eighty free shirt & blouse patterns and tutorials gathered from all over the web.

And because some of these designs consist of simple shapes and have very few seams, they would make an excellent first project for a beginner who’s just learning how to sew (and I would suggest sticking with a design that calls for a medium-weight woven fabric instead of a knit for a first sewing project).

And just a reminder that if you plan to launder your finished top, remember to preshrink your fabric first, especially ifyour fabric is 100% cotton or a cotton blend. To preshrink your fabric, simply launder it using the same water and dryer temperature in which you plan to launder your finished top. And if your fabric is 100% cotton, consider washing your fabric more than once because cotton fabric doesn't always shrink its maximum amount with the first washing.

And one more tip: if the pattern is somewhat complex, you may want to consider sewing a muslin of it first so you can adjust the fit before sewing your finished blouse, especially if you’ll be working with a more expensive fabric.